Chapter 8: Puppet

“Mann… Matthews… As I thought, you must die! I have a premonition… If I continue to let you grow, our grand plan might be ruined!”

Accompanied by a hoarse voice, Wus struggled to stand up. But his posture was so twisted that it didn’t even seem like a living being. Mann broke out in a cold sweat at the sight.

Not only that, he was also gathering mana, his withered body swelling from the pressure.

“Lord Mann, what are you hesitating for? This is a golden opportunity!”

Dulufu urged from the side, but Mann observed for a long time and saw nothing strange about Wus.

“Let’s go!”

With Mann’s command, the two rushed toward Wus together.

Learning from past experience, the two would not rely solely on Mann’s ability.

“Stay back!”

Wus shouted weakly at the two, raising his hand to release magic chains.

Seeing this, Mann and Dulufu almost simultaneously broke into smiles.

‘Finally, he took the bait!’

Dulufu smashed the chains apart with one blow of his hammer.

“Lord Mann!”

With a sound of impact, the two had already arrived at Wus’s side.

“Die!”

Dulufu struck Wus with all his might, pouring all his remaining mana into that blow. Even the pressure of the falling wind made Mann unsteady.

However, Mann did not attack; instead, he was observing Wus.

‘The mana chains have broken from the palm… mana is still gathering inside his body… and that inexplicable smile… Not good!’

crash A small hill over a person’s height was cratered by Dulufu’s strike.

“Lord Mann, what are you—”

Before he could finish the word, an even louder explosion sounded from afar.

“Get down!”

Mann pulled Dulufu down, and instantly hot sand and gravel covered their backs.

When everything calmed down, Mann and Dulufu emerged on another hill.

Dulufu looked a bit embarrassed; Mann had saved him too many times in this battle. His position as a strong warrior was shaken.

“Um… Thank you, Lord Mann.”

But Mann raised his hand to signal him to be quiet. Following his gaze, there was a huge crater, and Wus’s broken body lay quietly in it.

“Can you still sense that guy’s presence?”

Mann remained silent, his tense face never relaxing.

Because Wus’s mana fluctuations had not completely disappeared, only become extremely faint.

“That guy is still alive…”

Dulufu heard this and said nothing, only silently raising his slightly damaged shield.

The two exchanged a knowing look and nodded together.

Mann followed behind Dulufu, nerves taut, ready to activate Retrospection at any moment.

Meanwhile, Wus’s mana became even weaker, but even so, the closer they got to Wus, the more Mann’s skin crawled.

‘This opponent is truly terrifying!’

Before long, the two arrived very close to Wus.

Mann stared intently at the fallen Wus, and under Dulufu’s cover, he picked up his dagger and cautiously approached.

When he was just a few steps away, that unsettling faint fluctuation suddenly disappeared.

‘…Dead?’

A strong sense of dissonance urged Mann to get closer to Wus’s corpse.

The corpse was twisted into a strange posture. Looking closely, it was easy to see obvious stitching at the joints of his torso and limbs.

Even his neck was covered in dense stitching.

‘What the hell is this guy? This looks like a stitched-up… doll?’

‘Wait, doll?!’

‘Could it be that the Wus before him is just a puppet?’

‘If he is being controlled, then where is the real Wus?’

“Mann! Dodge!”

Dulufu urged urgently and pushed Mann away.

Immediately after, a rapid clang clang clang of metal reached Mann’s ears.

A member of the Heretic God Sect wielding a greatsword was crazily attacking Dulufu. Under his fierce moves, one wound after another appeared on Dulufu’s body.

His strength was not great, incomparable to Wus.

Although his movements were somewhat stiff, Mann couldn’t help but recall the scenes of his father, Duke Matthews, training soldiers.

‘Why are these moves so similar to the swordsmanship Father teaches?’

He was so shocked he was speechless. Could it be that these Heretic God Sect members had not only infiltrated the Matthews Territory, but even his own home?

“Lord Mann!”

Dulufu’s mana was nearly depleted; he clearly couldn’t hold out any longer.

Mann promptly activated Retrospection and pulled Dulufu away.

“Huff… puff… We’re… saved!”

Dulufu was panting heavily. Although his injuries had disappeared, his hands were still trembling.

Almost giving them no time to catch their breath, the sword-wielding Heretic God Sect member rushed before them as if teleporting.

‘Damn it!’

Mann quickly grabbed Dulufu and moved away from the camp.

But to his surprise, he didn’t move far this time. He stopped several dozen meters behind the Heretic God Sect member.

‘What… is this?’

Mann tentatively reached out in front of him, but as soon as he extended his hand, he felt something blocking him.

“A barrier that blocks mana… He must have seen you being bound by mana chains earlier,” Dulufu said with difficulty.

“No matter how strange your ability is, it relies on mana. So as long as the mana is isolated, your range of movement can be restricted.”

“In the end, you are just a Divine Emissary who hasn’t fully grown.”

A familiar voice reached Mann’s ears again.

“…Wus.”

“Correct, Lord Mann.”

Saying so, Wus, wielding a giant sword, bowed deeply to Mann.

“You bastard, how long have you been infiltrating Matthews Territory?”

“Heh heh heh…”

A mocking laugh reached Mann’s ears.

“I was here when you were still crawling on the ground.”

“What did you say!”

Seeing the anger rising in Mann, Wus found it rather amusing.

“Enough, let’s end this small talk here.”

“As for that destroyed body, you will pay for it with your own bodies!”

In an instant, a slash rushed toward Mann.

This strike was extremely fast, so fast that Mann was hit before he could react.

“Lord Mann, still struggling? Your mana should be nearly depleted, right?”

Wus slowly turned around, coldly eyeing the panting Mann.

Dulufu seized the opportunity and quickly attacked, but was easily repelled by Wus.

“It seems you are the one who is arrogant and underestimating your opponent, Lord Mann.”

“Perhaps, but I’m not entirely unprepared. I remember you said that this barrier blocks outside magic, right?”

“Yes, so what?”

“Unfortunately, there are also people watching me from outside. If my mana reaction suddenly disappears, what do you think will happen?”

Wus did not answer, instead swinging his sword toward Mann’s neck.

whoosh A blade cut through the air, but Mann smiled and neither dodged nor avoided.

crack A sudden cracking sound accompanied a mana fluctuation like the sky falling.

A flash of white light streaked between Mann and Wus, followed by the sound of flesh tearing.

Looking closely, a figure in pure white armor abruptly appeared in front of Mann. It held half of Wus’s arm in its hand.

As she gently squeezed, the half-arm began to twist, and extreme heat incinerated it in an instant.

“Is he the one leading the Heretic God Sect members around here?”

A soft, melodious voice reached Mann’s ears. Although it wasn’t directed at him, it still made him feel like needles were pricking his back.

‘She is the Second Imperial Princess Sophien. The passive effect of her innate skill “Royal Bloodline”… combined with her seemingly endless mana reserves, what a terrifying pressure.’

‘It’s a pity she’s wearing a helmet, so I can’t see her face. But since the original novel says she’s beautiful, she must be a looker.’

Mann suppressed the stray thoughts in his mind and seriously answered Sophien’s question.

“Yes, but his true body hasn’t appeared. The one before us is just a puppet.”

Sophien nodded slightly and looked back at the disheveled Wus.

She crossed her hands, and mana nearly solidified materialized into a dragon’s head, with surrounding mana rapidly converging.

Wus was completely suppressed by Sophien’s mana, unable to move at all.

“…This amount of mana, how is it possible? Who are you?”

Sophien did not answer. Instead, the giant dragon’s eyes sharpened, and then explosive energy rushed toward Wus.

Seeing this energy surging toward him, Wus recalled his giant sword at the last possible moment.

Although the sword only held for a moment before shattering, that brief gap allowed him to escape.

“My ‘body’ is very precious. I’ll stop here for today. But we will definitely meet again!”

He quickly turned and fled into the distance. But just as he was gloating over his successful escape, a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Did you forget I’m still here? Wus?”

The familiar voice sounded utterly despairing at that moment.

“Mann Matthews?! How long are you going to keep hounding me?!”

Wus never expected that Mann would take the risk of mutual destruction to drag him back.

In Mann’s eyes, there was no consideration for himself, only a blazing fury to kill the other.

“Until when? Until you go to hell!”

In the blink of an eye, Wus was taken back to his previous position via Retrospection.

Mann gave him almost no time to react, and Sophien’s attack landed squarely on him.